Presenting the major trends, theories and practices in cross-cultural assessment, this volume focuses on intelligence and intelligence testing, particularly as applied to people from racial and ethnic minority groups who are also socioeconomically and culturally deprived.

The theme running throughout is that IQ tests and traditional standardized tests of cognitive ability, while appropriate for middle-class mainstream individuals regardless of their race or ethnicity, are neither valid nor reliable for those who grow up in environments that are deficient - for example, because of inadequate rearing or serious economic stress. The book proposes alternative approaches to assessing cognitive ability in persons from such backgrounds.